Sarah Jessica Parker

Working professionally from the age of 10, Sarah Jessica Parker made the difficult transition from awkward teen actress to respected leading lady, evolving into a trendsetting fashion icon in the proc...
Read More...

New York has seen its fare share of showdowns: Yankees and Mets. DiCaprio and Day-Lewis. The street meat guys at the opposite corners of 53rd and 6th. But never before has the Big Apple landed a faceoff with such explosive promise as that of Jimmy Fallon and David Letterman. After a storm of rumors that Jay Leno would be ousted from his spot hosting The Tonight Show, it was announced on Wednesday that Late Night headliner Fallon would be officially taking Leno's place come 2014. With the institution of the young Saturday Night Live vet as Tonight's new host, NBC will be moving its mainstay program from its longtime residence of Los Angeles to Fallon's present turf of New York City.
Which just so happens to also be the stomping grounds of CBS' rival program The Late Show, led for years by Leno's biggest and most outspoken adversary, David Letterman. Anyone tuned into the late night circuit is well aware of the longstanding animosity between Letterman and Leno, dating back to the latter's surprising promotion to Tonight Show host following the retirement of Johnny Carson — many assumed the position would go to Late Night host Letterman... Letterman included. But now that Leno is bowing out for good (yes, we've heard that before, but it seems to be for real this time), will Letterman's rage find a target in Fallon? And, if so, will this enmity be augmented by the proximity of the two hosts?
RELATED: NBC to Replace Jay Leno with Jimmy Fallon
We imagine that the pair's shooting in the same city — especially a city with such an immaculate and reliable public transportation system! — will be condusive to face-to-face battles, taking form in the most New Yorkian of fashions. Imagine this...
Pickleback drinking contests, Cash Cab competitions, pigeon races, SantaCon brawls, pizza tastings, graffiti-offs, De Niro impressions, celebrity scavenger hunts (5 points for Sarah Jessica Parker!), raves, entering the subway with a monthly pass and taking the train one stop then seeing if you can run back to the original station before the 16-minute block on your card is up, stickball games behind P.S. 26. The opportunities are endless, fellas. May the best host win.
Follow Michael Arbeiter on Twitter @MichaelArbeiter
[Photo Credit: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage]
From Our PartnersSee 'Game of Thrones' as 'Mad Men' (Vulture)Hayden Panetierre Bikinis in Miami (Celebuzz)

Bruce Willis reprised his role as the irascible, tenacious John McClane in the fifth installment of Twentieth Century Fox’s Die Hard franchise, A Good Day to Die Hard in IMAX this President’s weekend. Opening as perfect counter-programming on Valentine’s Day, the R-rated action broke the losing streak that films of the genre have experienced of late. And with $33,239,00 since it opened on Thursday, it has taken out the romantic competition. Audiences found excitement in the premise of the film, which teams McClane with his grown son Jack (Jai Courtney) and the use of Russia as a backdrop. Built-in brand recognition for both the franchise (with over $1.1 billion in WW revenue) and the McClane character ensured that this film “Yippee-ki-yay-ed” itself to the top of the box office chart this weekend.
RELATED: 'Identity Theft' Steals Box Office
Of course, no Valentine’s weekend would be complete without a little love from Nicholas Sparks, whose Safe Haven from Relativity Media made its debut appropriately on Valentine’s Day with just over $30 million for the four days. Starring the impossibly good-looking Julianne Hough &amp; Josh Duhamel, the film is elevated above the standard for this genre by solid direction from Lasse Halstrom (The Cider House Rules, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape) and an intriguing premise. The PG-13 film couldn't, however, best the raunchy comedy Identity Thief this Valentine's Day weekend.
After a much better than expected $34.5 million debut last weekend, Identity Thief was represented well in the box office mix with newly crowned comedy star Melissa McCarthy and her co-star Jason Bateman, who offered a major challenge to the newcomers this weekend. The R-rated comedy enjoyed a $23.4 million Friday through Sunday gross, placing it at number two with a cumulative gross of $70.7 million by the end of the weekend.
RELATED: What Makes a 'Die Hard' Movie a 'Die Hard' Movie?
In an effort not leave kids and families out of the President’s Day/Valentine's equation, The Weinstein Co. delivered Escape From Planet Earth in 3-D. The PG-rated animated film features the voices of Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba and William Shatner and drew a respectable $16 million over the long weekend.
There is yet another Valentine’s Day release: Warner Bros. presented Beautiful Creatures, a PG-13 fantasy romance that melds an older and younger cast (à la The Hunger Games) into a mythological love story that will also draw a solid audience of romance-seeking couples this weekend. The film boasts a solid cast including Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum and Emma Thompson, yet it only broke $7.4 million for the long weekend.
Filling out the rest of the chart, Summit Entertainment’s Warm Bodies remained a top draw pulling in $9 million along with Open Road’s Side Effects with $6.3 million and Oscar contenders Silver Lining Playbook from The Weinstein Co. with $6 million, Zero Dark Thirty from Sony with $3.1 million, and Paramount’s Hansel &amp; Gretel at just under $3.5 million in what should prove to be one of the better performing President’s weekend holiday frames on record.
[Photo Credit: Frank Masi/20th Century Fox]
From Our Partners:
Kate Upton Bares All in Nothing But Body Paint: Video (Celebuzz)
Bradley Cooper Dancing Is Surprisingly Awkward (Vh1)

It's an impressive feat for a movie to be strange and forgettable, subversive yet littered with crass product placement. Escape from Planet Earth manages to be all of these things and more. In this world, aliens are abducted by government officials, Roswell is an intergalactic work camp, an Army general is conducting an online affair with a sexy alien lady, and the stoners who work or hang out or whatever at 7-11 ply their new little blue friend with a matching blue Slurpee. Sounds promising, right?
Not entirely. For the most part, the plodding plot is driven by a lackluster sibling rivalry between Gary Supernova (Rob Corddry) and his lantern-jawed brother Scorch (Brendan Fraser). These little blue dudes live on the planet Baab and work at BASA, which is (obviously) Baab's version of NASA. Gary's the nerdy mission control guy who saves his brother's butt when Scorch is off being a bad ass astronaut. A plodding series of events lands them both on Earth, a planet full of violent, devolved creatures where aliens from across the galaxy routinely go missing. There, they find the devious General Shanker (William Shatner) is snatching otherwise peaceful aliens and putting them to work on building a giant weapon that will destroy the universe. The other aliens Gary and Scorch run into are way more interesting and fun than the folks they left behind on Baab — a cafeteria food fight between Roswell employees and the aliens is more entertaining than 90% of the interactions between Gary and Scorch — which is a bummer since Gary's wife Kira (Sarah Jessica Parker) is hot on their heels to rescue them. Lena, the head of BASA, is a lovelorn villainess (Jessica Alba) who would be willing to blow up the world for a hot human with an Elvis pompadour that she met online. She and Kira used to be coworkers but now Lena's like, whatever, now you're a stay-at-home mom! And Kira's like, I will kick your butt. And so on. The female characters in the movie are pretty decent, all things considered.
Still, Escape from Planet Earth is a bit of a mess. Are we rooting for family values? Or railing against how silly humans are? Or constantly, odiously plugging 7-11? There is also auto-tuned music on the soundtrack, although it's not clear if this was yet another invention of the aliens (like the iPhone, Facebook, the Internet, and Pixar, according to one montage) or yet another example of how humans have devolved. Adding to the confusion: a sexy news reporter alien voiced by Sofía Vergara.
Escape from Plant Earth seems like its plot was originally cooked up by some sorta cool goofy dudes — I mean, Steve Zahn and Chris Parnell as stoners who work at 7-11? Pretty funny! — that was then wrangled into something a little more family-friendly. (Vis the website, which is littered with seals of approval from the Parents Television Council and the Dove Foundation.) It's not that it's particularly bad, it's just not something that sticks with you in any meaningful way. The rest of the voice cast is pretty good, like Craig Robinson as a cool talk radio "therapist" alien and Jane Lynch as a one-eyed librarian from the sun with anger management problems. It's just that there's so much other stuff happening that isn't particularly gripping. Like the crux of the entire story. Who cares if Gary and Scorch ever make up? Who cares that Kip thinks his dad is a pantywaist? You really don't. In a world where film-lovers of all ages can be challenged, entertained, and moved by animated film, it's entirely fair to expect more of family films.
(Escape from Planet Earth is available in 3D, but for expediency's sake, I saw the 2D version.)
2.5/5
[Photo Credit: The Weinstein Company]
From Our Partners:
'SI's 25 Sexiest Swimsuit Covers of All Time (Vh1)
Pregnant Kate Middleton Bikini Pics Spark Palace Anger (Celebuzz)

Bruce Willis reprises his role as the irascible, tenacious John McClane in the fifth installment of Twentieth Century Fox’s Die Hard franchise, A Good Day to Die Hard in IMAX this President’s weekend. Opening as perfect counter-programming on Valentine’s Day, the R-rated action film looks to break the losing streak that films of the genre have experienced of late. A likely gross of well over $40 million for the five-day Thursday through Monday frame is expected with audiences likely to find excitement in the premise of the film, which teams McClane with his grown son Jack (Jai Courtney) and the use of Russia as a backdrop. Built-in brand recognition for both the franchise (with over $1.1 billion in WW revenue) and the McClane character will ensure that this film will “Yippee-ki-yay” itself to the top of the box office chart this weekend.
RELATED: 'Identity Theft' Steals Box Office
Of course, no Valentine’s weekend would be complete without a little love from Nicholas Sparks, whose Safe Haven from Relativity Media makes its debut appropriately on Valentine’s Day with an expected $20 million plus for the five days. Starring the impossibly good-looking Julianne Hough &amp; Josh Duhamel, the film is elevated above the standard for this genre by solid direction from Lasse Halstrom (The Cider House Rules, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape) and an intriguing premise. The PG-13 film should earn in the low to mid-$20 millions for the five-day period.
There is yet another Valentine’s Day release to join the hit parade as Warner Bros. presents Beautiful Creatures, a PG-13 fantasy romance that melds an older and younger cast (à la The Hunger Games) into a mythological love story that will also draw a solid audience of romance-seeking couples this weekend. The film boasts a solid cast including Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum and Emma Thompson. Expected for the film is a gross in excess of $20 million for the long weekend.
RELATED: What Makes a 'Die Hard' Movie a 'Die Hard' Movie?
In an effort not leave kids and families out of the President’s Day/Valentine's equation, opening Friday from The Weinstein Co. is Escape From Planet Earth in 3-D. The PG-rated animated film features the voices of Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba and William Shatner and should draw respectable crowds over the long weekend.
After a much better than expected $34.5 million debut last weekend, Identity Thief will be represented well in the box office mix with newly crowned comedy star Melissa McCarthy and her co-star Jason Bateman, offering a major challenge a couple of the newcomers this weekend. A 50 percent weekend over weekend drop would still give the R-rated comedy a $17 million Friday through Sunday gross, placing it in major contention for one of the top spots with a cumulative gross in the $60 million plus range by the end of the weekend.
RELATED: 'Safe Haven' Author Nicholas Sparks Answers: Will He Write Gay Romance?
Filling out the rest of the chart, Summit Entertainment’s Warm Bodies will remain a top draw along with Open Road’s Side Effects and Oscar contenders Silver Lining Playbook from The Weinstein Co., Zero Dark Thirty from Sony, and Paramount’s Hansel &amp; Gretel in what should prove to be one of the better performing President’s weekend holiday frames on record.
Photo Credit: Frank Masi/20th Century Fox
From Our Partners:
Kate Upton Bares All in Nothing But Body Paint: Video (Celebuzz)
Bradley Cooper Dancing Is Surprisingly Awkward (Vh1)

In the four weeks since we met Larissa Loughlin, fashion editor of Interview magazine and socialite extraordinaire, on The Carrie Diaries (the CW's sugary sweet Sex and the City prequel), we've seen her shoplift from Century 21, attend a racy performance art exhibition, mix Acid and Ecstasy, and become the perfect role model for a young New Yorker. How does a single character walk the line between mentor and corrupter so effortlessly? Well, it helps when she is played by Freema Agyeman. The British actress, best known for her role on Dr. Who, plays Larissa with equal parts charm and cheekiness, vulnerability and confidence, and in doing so, gives us one of the show's most nuanced characters.
Hollywood.com spoke with Agyeman about her late discovery of Sex and the City, revisiting the '80s, and how she almost became an English lit scholar.
Hollywood.com: What drew you to The Carrie Diaries?
Freema Agyeman: Well, I did pilot season for the first time ever at the beginning of last year, and I was about five weeks in really — and it's quite an intense experience, because we don't have anything like it back home. You do two, three, four auditions a day, and I remember I got so exhausted towards the middle that I told my agent, "I'm just going to have to drop down the numbers I go in for." And so, then The Carrie Diaries script came along. Because I'm not the fastest reader in the world it usually takes me a while to read all the scripts as well and then learn them, but I just remember with Carrie Diaries I didn't read it once that night, I read it twice. I had the audition the next day, but the lines just went in so easily. I could see Larissa, and I could hear her straight away. And I just think when you know you've found a part that you click with you really feel it. So it felt like a no-brainer — let alone the fact that it's a part of an amazing franchise. It's such an honor. RELATED: 'The Carrie Diaries' Recap: A Tale of Two Parties
Being from the UK, what was your relationship like with SATC? Oh my goodness, it was huge! Absolutely everybody of a certain age, or between certain ages, was watching the show. But I remember I never watched it at the time, when the whole country was talking about it. I never tend to watch or do anything when other people are doing it; I come to things much later. So I bought the box set, I don't know, like a year, two years later, and started going through them. And I couldn't get enough! So much so that I started rationing them, because I knew there was only the boxed set for the whole thing. So I was talking to everyone about it and they were looking at me like, "It's kind of old news, Freema. Why are you talking about it now?" But I literally stopped at Season 3 and didn't got any further. And I started again from Season 1 now, in the hopes of never quite ever reaching the end — because I never want it to end! So you haven't seen the end?! No! Don't tell me! I still don't know how it finishes; I'm savoring it. Well the good thing about SATC is you can watch those episodes millions of times and still enjoy them just as much. That's absolutely true. So, in actual fact it stays true, it never gets old. I guess for me, it's that complete excitement — because there was nothing like it at the time, and I really should have watched it when everyone else was. But then again, as you say, it's relevant throughout. So actually, I'm happy to savor it for another few years. Be careful of spoilers! Oh I know! I'll be forced to kill anyone who says anything! So, getting back to The Carrie Diaries, obviously Larissa is a mentor for Carrie, but is she really the best role model? What with the shoplifting and the drugs? Ooh! Well, I kind of feel like, with Larissa, yeah, she's described as this party girl but she's so much into her fashion and the art world as well. And I think that she is a force of nature, she just loves all things, good, bad, and ugly. And she is a bit manic, and she is a kleptomaniac, but she's a fun character and she does have a good heart. And also, I must say that I don't really feel as though she's leading Carrie astray or corrupting her. Because Carrie has always sought a different world and excitement and danger and all of that. I think she's looking for this different world and Larissa just happens to inhabit it. And I think that Carrie is sensible enough to not follow the bad, but celebrate all the good with Larissa. Oh, and you can definitely tell that Larissa has a good heart. Yes! She is naughty, but she's a nice naughty. RELATED: 'The Carrie Diaries': 'Sex and the City' for a New Generation
At this point, Larissa doesn't realize Carrie is in high school. I'm curious about what will happen if she finds out. If she'll be upset or if she will just take Carrie under her wing even more and protect her. Well I can say, and Amy B. Harris did address this at the TCA, that it does come to light. I can't say that much throughout the series, but it is directly addressed. And obviously I can't say which way it goes, but it does go one of the ways. But you know, there are all these jokes that get trickled in about Larissa just thinking she has good dermatology, she just looks very young and fresh-faced, but I think by the very fact that she's there, working in New York, Larissa just thinks she's game and legal. What is your relationship like with AnnaSophia Robb (who plays Carrie) on set? Oh she is just a sweetie! When we started the pilot, within a minute of us being on set — and actually as soon as they said "action" — seeing her in the scene, I was so relaxed. Because it's such a big role and she knows that and everyone knows that, and you think, "How is this young girl going to even begin to address it?" And I can tell you, literally within minutes I just thought, she is a clever, clever little actress. And she's been doing this a long time, since she was nine or however old. She's really professional and really technical and talented and, as I say, I breathed a sigh of relief for her. I would be so nervous to do it, and she is and was, but she's really capable in it. She has absolutely nothing to worry about. And all the critics agree, by the reviews, she really knows what she's doing with the part. She's really magnetic. And I've noticed how she really picks up on Sarah Jessica Parker's mannerisms. Good! I thought that was really clever! She doesn't do so much of it, but she peppers it in so you can see the similarity. But then she goes and brings her own into it as well. She's just very cleverly designed it all, and I think she's going to be hugely successful in this part. What was it like for you playing not only a fashion editor, but a fashion editor in the '80s? Well, I mean, the '80s are just a period that whoever I speak to just remembers the fun aspect: the parties, the clothes, the economy picking up. It just felt like a really positive, happy time. And I mean, I just have fond memories of it myself. I'm slightly older than the rest of the cast, so I was old enough to remember it, and it was a happy time for me, too. I remember my mum always looked fabulous, I really enjoyed our pink and gray-themed household, it was just amazing. I have really rose-tinted glasses about it, I think. But in terms of playing an adult through that time — I mean, I was between one through 10 — but playing this twenty-something fashion editor in the '80s, I absolutely bowed to a higher authority on that, which are the producers and the writers. Because it's not like I can necessarily ask my parents, because even though they were around, London is very different from New York. And also, even if they could tell me, I don't know anyone who was a fashion editor. So certain things I can research and bring my own influences to, but other things I do actually take the lead of the producers and what they each think that aspect of my character should be like. RELATED: CW's 'Carrie Diaries': 5 Things To Know
When you were growing up, or maybe when you were first starting out in acting, did you have anyone like Larissa who was able to kind of show you the ropes? No! [Laughs] No one in my family or my friend circle anywhere was in the acting business or anything to do with the industry whatsoever. I went to a very strict academic convent girls' school, and I was very into science and things like that when I was younger. And then I suddenly just went off on this tangent when I was 17 and I suddenly decided that I liked acting. But I also liked fine arts and English literature, so I would have gone and done any of them at a higher education level. I remember asking a career advisor, "What should I do?" and her advice was to apply to universities and see what happens. So I applied to either of the three at university, and I decided that fate would guide me. And it so happens that the theater studies or the acting degree application was responded to first, so I thought it was a sign. And I learned everything as I went. I got into it quite late. I'm enjoying it, but I'm very much learning as I go — and enjoying that, actually! But yeah, there wasn't anybody that I could use as a role model. And I certainly wasn't looking for somebody to introduce me to the city or introduce me to party scene because I wasn't that girl either. I was in further education as far as I could go, I never really went out, I didn't have a boyfriend until I was 19. So I'm probably more like a wide-eyed Carrie Bradshaw than I am like Larissa. Dr. Who is such a different show and has such a large following; how do you think your fans from your past work will feel about this new role? Again, because, as I say, I'm learning as I go along, having all these new experiences, it's really important to me to diversify a little bit as well. And it's never that I want to forget or distance myself from what came before, I love all of it and I'm extremely grateful because it brings me to the next place. I must admit, I did pilot season not really expecting this to all happen so quickly, and I'm still caught up in the whirlwind of it all and I feel really blessed and really lucky to be a part of this production and to have my first American outing. And so, for fans, I guess they will be surprised maybe by the change of direction — I went from Dr. Who to Law and Order and now to The Carrie Diaries — but I would never ignore or forget where I came from. So hopefully my Dr. Who fans won't feel that. I mean, I certainly will still go to conventions, I have one scheduled for February, and I've got some things for 50th Anniversary coming up that I'm involved in, so I'll always get back into that part of my life as well. Will we get a chance to see more of Larissa's backstory, or maybe storylines independent from Carrie as we go along? Or is that something you'd like to see? Oh I certainly would! I'm going to actually chat with Amy B. Harris at some point, because we did talk briefly on set and she said, "Let's have a sit-down and we can talk about story arc and backstory," because I don't know what any of mine is. My character is not in the books, so I don't appear in the Carrie Diaries story, and I think, you know, that's great. There are pros and cons in a way because I have complete freedom with the part, I can kind of contribute to her as I go along, but I suppose the downside of that is I really don't know where she comes from or where she's going. But that's kind of exciting as well. I guess, she'll be around for as long or as little as Carrie needs her and we will go into her backstory as and when it seems necessary, I'm sure. But I'm intrigued to see which direction she moves in as well. I'm sure there's layers under the kleptomaniac cloud.
Follow Abbey Stone on Twitter @abbeystone
[Photo Credit: Nino Munoz/The CW]
From Our Partners:
Oops, Britney Spears Goes Braless Again — PHOTOS (Celebuzz)
30 Hottest Lingerie Scenes From the Past 30 Years — PHOTOS (Celebuzz)

The Sex and the City star helped design the gold-dusted black snakeskin clutch, which will retail for $1,000 (£625) and benefit the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).
One of the evening bags will be auctioned off at the organisation's gala at the Cipriani Wall Street in New York on Wednesday (06Feb13), and Parker was delighted to put her skills to the test for the cause.
She says, "It's been an amazing experience to collaborate with Kenneth Cole on the design of a handbag supporting amfAR. Kenneth has used his platform as a fashion designer for nearly 30 years to advocate for amfAR's mission to end AIDS. I'm thrilled this bag will help raise money and awareness for the 30 million people living with HIV and AIDS."
Cole, Janet Jackson and Heidi Klum will be honoured during the ceremony for their ongoing work with the foundation.

Dunham, who writes, stars in and directs Girls, will re-team with the show's executive producer Jenni Konner to produce another programme for America's HBO network, based on All Dressed Up And Everywhere To Go, according to Deadline.com.
The book's author, Betty Halbreich, has spent years as a personal shopper for famed New York department store Bergdorf Goodman and has dressed stars including Meryl Streep, Sarah Jessica Parker and Glenn Close, and has also worked on Sex and the City and several Woody Allen films.
Girls has won critical acclaim for 26-year-old Dunham, as well as two Golden Globe Awards.

The upcoming TV series focuses on a high-school version of the show's main character Carrie Bradshaw in 1980s New York, and bosses have used stock shots of the city in the era to make it as realistic as possible.
However, they decided against including images of the doomed towers to avoid recalling painful memories of 9/11.
Executive producer Amy B. Harris tells The Hollywood Reporter, "We try to use stock footage when we're using footage of the city that is period correct. In the pilot we used a lot of 1980s streets and buildings. But when we sat down to talk about it, because we knew this was something that we would have to be thinking about through the season and the series - there were obviously going to be stock footage shots with the Twin Towers in it - how did we want to address it?
"When we sat down, it was a unanimous decision. If we caused one person discomfort or pain, it felt like the wrong choice. We were all in agreement on that.
"I totally wouldn't want it scratched out of movies and TV shows that (happened) before 9/11, but occasionally when I watch a sitcom that I love and the stock shots that come before the scenes has the Twin Towers, it gives me pause for a minute. If we had a choice, it felt like the more sensitive choice.
"I appreciate that some people may feel that we should show them but I really just feel that we're telling a show about love and coming of age, and it didn't seem like the appropriate place to make that statement."
Actress AnnaSophia Robb takes on the role made famous by Sarah Jessica Parker.

The Sex and the City star signed onto Lovelace, about the porn icon who starred in 1972's Deep Throat, last year (12) after Demi Moore dropped out from the film due to health problems.
The drama, which stars Seyfried as the titular character, is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah next week (22Jan13), but viewers won't get to see Parker's performance - since filmmakers decided to end Lovelace's story in 1980, four years before she met Steinem.
And director Rob Epstein tells EW.com it was a tough decision to leave Parker's scenes on the editing room floor: "You never want to make that call."

Carrie Bradshaw is an icon. Like the bustling metropolis she calls her home, Carrie is larger than life. But before she was a Vogue columnist, before she had her first byline in the New York Star, before she met Mr. Big, she was just a curly-haired teenager living in Castlebury, Conn. The CW's The Carrie Diaries picks up before HBO's Sex and the City begins. It's SATC BC: Before Sex.
The year is 1984 and, as Carrie (played by Soul Surfer's AnnaSophia Robb) tells us in her opening voiceover, a movie star is in the White House and Carrie is ready to begin her first day of eleventh grade. That is, once she finds her mom's purse. Carrie's mom, we learn, passed away from cancer three months prior, and the Bradshaw family — which includes Carrie, her father Tom (Matt Letscher), and younger sister Dorrit (Stefania Owen) — is still reeling from grief. Carrie's mom's purse is Carrie's last remaining memento of her mom, and the audience's first glimpse at the sentimentality that seeps through the show's every pore.
While its predecessor was full or caustic wit with a touch of heart, with more dramatic episodes becoming the norm only in later seasons, The Carrie Diaries is dripping in earnest sweetness. AnnaSophia Robb may have some of Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrieisms down pat — a tug at her hair here, at bite of the lip there — but this Carrie has a long way to go before becoming the Carrie Bradshaw we know. And the first obstacle in the way of Carrie's Sex and the City future is her virginity. Reunited with her best friends Mouse, Maggie, and Walt (who is also Maggie's gay-but-doesn't-know-it boyfriend) at school, Carrie learns she's the last in the bunch to, as Mouse so eloquently puts it, have a guy "hot dog her keyhole." While she spent the summer mourning the loss of her mother and her childhood, Carrie's friends were busy losing a different kind of innocence.
Luckily for Carrie, a crush from summers past, Sebastian "Even His Name Is Cool" Kydd (played by Disney heartthrob Austin Butler) has just transferred to Castlebury High. He was Carrie's first kiss — and what a steamy, chlorine-filled one it was! — could be be the bestower of another milestone first? While SATC lore has Carrie losing her V-Card to Seth Bateman on the ping pong table of his family rec room, this wouldn't be the first detail of Carrie's backstory for The Carrie Diaries to change. (In the HBO show, Parker's Carrie notes that her father left her family when she was young. The idea for Carrie's mother to pass instead comes from author Candace Bushnell's source novel.) Either way, it's clear Sebastian will dominate many of Carrie's fantasies this season.
Along with a new love interest, the first day of school brings another new possibility for Carrie. Thinking a change of scenery might be just what the doctor ordered to cure Carrie of her mother-mourning, Mr. Bradshaw has arranged for his daughter to spend one day a week interning at a law firm in the Promised Land, Manhattan. For school credit, of course! Disbelief must be willingly suspended to stomach the notion that any father could think his newly motherless 16-year-old needs the stress of a new job over the comfort of a familiar environment, but hey, we've got to get Carrie to the city somehow, right?
Because this story really is about Carrie's love affair with Manhattan. A place where the tale of a pair of ripped stockings can magically morph into a chance meeting with an editor of your favorite magazine (in Carrie's case, Larissa Loughlin of Interview) and a night of glamorous clubbing. Who needs a teenaged boy at the New Beginnings Dance when an older, stylish woman wants to add you to her "collection"?
After catching the last train home, Carrie is rudely awakened from her Manhattan dream by the harsh reality of her life in suburban Connecticut. But before the spell wears off, Carrie demonstrates her newfound confidence and self-assurance in an exchange with Sebastian that foreshadows the Carrie we know a decade down the line. After finding Sebastian in a convertible with Castlebury High's requisite mean girl Donna, Carrie doesn't blink an eye. "It's not what you think," Sebastian stammers. "It's exactly what I think." And then, "That's it?" "For now." For now Carrie has the upper hand, Carrie can wait for the guy to come to her, for now (and evermore) Carrie has felt the pulse and possibility of the city, and no mere boy can shake that.
But troubles at home can. While Carrie was drinking champagne from the bottle and dancing at Indochine, Dorrit (dammit Dorri!) ran away from home. Rebellious, pot-smoking Dorrit of the heavy eyeliner has stayed out all night and gotten drunk. Younger sister, train wreck at 14 Dorrit has caused Carrie and her father to pace into the wee hours of the morning, "worried sick" with dread. When Dorrit reappears, Carrie cries and screams and pulls at her curls. "You think I want to have to be your mother?"
But all hope is not lost for the Bradshaw brood. For, as is the way of teen-friendly family dramas, Carrie's outburst has allowed dear old dad to see the error of his ways. Unable to let go of his wife, he has become a negligent parent. As a melancholy, acoustic version of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" plays in the background, Tom and his daughters pack up their mother's closet, an unofficial memorial they have kept since her passing.
The episode closes with yet another wink at the future. In front of an open window, Carrie pulls back her hair into a ponytail and then leans over a journal (one of her mother's) to begin writing.
Follow Abbey Stone on Twitter @abbeystone
[Photo Credit: The CW]
More:
'The Carrie Diaries': 'Sex and the City' for a New Generation
'The Carrie Diaries' Preview: 'Sex and the City' Prequel Goes Retro
'Carrie Diaries' First Look: AnnaSophia Robb Gets Carried Away
From Our Partners:
Megan Fox’s 12 Hottest Moments (Moviefone)
Golden Globes: Tina and Amy’s Best Zinger’s (Moviefone)

Summary

Working professionally from the age of 10, Sarah Jessica Parker made the difficult transition from awkward teen actress to respected leading lady, evolving into a trendsetting fashion icon in the process. At 15, Parker took on the lead role in the 1979 Broadway production of the hit musical "Annie," then co-starred on the popular high school comedy series "Square Pegs" (CBS, 1982-83). After nearly a decade of toiling away in various film and television projects, the actress struck critical and commercial gold with her inspired performances in a pair of romantic comedies - "L.A. Story" (1991) and "Honeymoon in Vegas" (1992). Four years later, she triumphantly returned to Broadway for the musical comedy "How to Succeed in Business without Even Trying," prior to marrying that production's leading man, Matthew Broderick in 1997. The hit series "Sex and the City" (HBO, 1998-2004) not only established Parker as one of the biggest female stars on television, but as an influential figure in the realm of celebrity fashion throughout its six-year run. And while later feature films like "Failure to Launch" (2006) were popular, they were far eclipsed by the hugely anticipated big screen adaptation of "Sex and the City" (2008) and its sequel. In a business often noted for being unkind to former child stars and even less forgiving to actresses past the age of 40, Parker enjoyed an enviable multi-decade career as a star of stage, screen and fashion.

Born in 1962; appeared with sister on Broadway in "The Innocents" (1976); member of Naked Angels theater group; featured in the original production of the musical "Rent" (1996); introduced sister to Matthew Broderick

Rachel Parker

Sister

Born c. 1963

Education

Name

Professional Children's School

Dwight Morrow High School

School for Creative and Performing Arts

School of American Ballet

Notes

Parker was a founding member of the famed New York theater group the Drama Dept.

She was a member of the New York City Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Naked Angels Theater, which was co-founded by her brothers Toby and Pippin.

In 2002, Parker was named Woman of the Year by Hasty Pudding Theatricals of Harvard University.

"She's the rarest of actresses. She's got intelligence, sex appeal, likability and an enormous comic gift. She's able to toss off one-liners, while maintaining the emotional thread and never stepping out of character, and still make you laugh." – writer/director, David Frankel on Parker to Newsday, Jan. 22, 1995

"A woman's movie career is much shorter than a man's, and it's awfully nice to have a career in theater, where a woman can work longer. So I do this out of love, but not without a certain degree of calculation. I want a career in theater because in a couple of years my opportunities in film will change drastically." – Parker quoted in The New York Times, April 25, 1996

"As an actor, I often think it will all go away tomorrow, that it was just this lucky moment. Even though it's been so busy for so long, every job always feels like it could be the last one. I never assume that I will be fortunate and continue to work. I always assume that I will be, you know, proven a fraud, or people will just get tired of me. I tend to think of it all as very temporary." – Parker quoted in the New York Post, May 23, 1996

"I love making movies, but the energy is far more dissipated in making movies than in doing theater. Theater is much more satisfying. You go from beginning to end every night. You control your own work. No one takes it to an editor, where they can do whatever they want – make you brilliant or destroy you. In theater, it's entirely up to the actor." – Parker quoted in Time Out New York, Dec. 12-29, 1996

"We ended up being a really unified cast who loved doing the show every night. Walking in the door the day after we opened, knowing the show had not gotten that fantasy reception and finding that, my God, you can do this and have fun, it was the greatest surprise of my life. I think actors are told that if they don't like you, it's over; if the show is flawed, you can't recover. What you discover as an adult is that you can not only recover but you can enjoy it. And the audience might enjoy it too. The experience became invaluable, because you learn more with obstacles than you ever learn with the ease and comfort of success. I learned heaps and bundles. And I wouldn't have traded it." – Parker on the disappointing reception of "Once Upon A Mattress," quoted in In Theater magazine, Aug. 30, 1999

"You can't quit. You can't work in the theater. Can't do a movie when you like. You can't just be with your friends and go to dinner. And then you're in people's homes and your life changes, you can't go to the market by yourself and pick your own tomatoes. But Matthew [Broderick, Parker's husband] said 'I think you should do this, because it's a really good part, and you've never played one like it. The worst-cast scenario is it'll be successful. Maybe it'll be really collaborative and you'll learn something.' And in fact he was right." – Parker on "Sex and the City" (HBO) to Dustin Hoffman in Interview magazine, October 1999

"Sarah is very real, which is a fairly rare thing in child actors and one of the reasons she was able to smoothly make the transition from child to adult actor." – Cynthia Nixon on Parker, quoted in People magazine, Nov. 8, 1999

"John Kennedy Jr. was beautiful, sort of beyond sexual. I was able, like, 90 percent of me, to forget there was an icon sitting across from me." – Parker on her former beau to Us Weekly, Sept. 2, 2002

"Carrie Bradshaw was a far more bold, colorful person in terms of fashion, than I will ever be. I would never feel comfortable dressed the way she would. Nor do I think it's appropriate. But that's who she was." – Parker on her "Sex and the City" (HBO) character to Us Weekly, Oct. 25, 2004

"I get the feeling people are disappointed with me because I don’t have the answers for them. I don’t have a Ph.D in sex or counseling, I'm an actress. I wonder if George Clooney is better prepared to talk about surgeries because of "ER" (NBC)" – Parker to Brazil’s Epoca magazine, May 2006

In 2009, Parker was selected by President Obama as a member of the President's Committee on Arts and the Humanities.

"I didn't plot a future like this, although I know some people do. When Matthew [Broderick] and I started working, all we knew is that we wanted to be great actors. I don't think I ever thought about money or that people would know my name. I loooove the work!" – Parker quoted in Parade, Aug. 21, 2011